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LeFou
LeFou is the secondary antagonist of Beauty and the Beast. He serves as Gaston's diminutive and bumbling sidekick. Background Development In one of the earlier drafts for the film, LeFou (or rather, "LaFou") was depicted in two ways: One was similar in overall appearance to his final design, and was depicted as a slovenly, dimwitted braggart and a drunkard, and is implied to immensely respect Gaston because the latter always picks up the tab. He was also compared to the character Wimpy from Popeye in this version regarding his love of booze (similar to how Wimpy loves hamburgers). Another is as a more nerdish character and acted as Gaston's accountant. It is also mentioned in this draft that he was initially very well educated, bright, and enterprising, but Gaston's bullying alongside his failed attempts at keeping Gaston's reckless extravagant and lavish spending in check left him really neurotic and high-strung. Yet another version, spelled "Oui-Oui", also depicted him as Southeast Asian (presumably Hindi) and explicitly non-European. Another concept art depicted him as two carriers of Gaston's box chariot, although they were given the appearance of being Oriental. Personality Although LeFou is far from stupid, he is still portrayed as something of a bumbler. He looks up to Gaston as his hero and takes all the abuse Gaston inflicts on him. Despite this, he seems to share something of a love/hate relationship with Gaston, as the two have been shown to get along with no problem, and Gaston mostly hurts LeFou when the latter either makes a smart remark at Gaston's expense or does something stupid. He has been dropped, hit in the head with the barrel of a gun and with Gaston's fist, had his head wedged in a number of objects (including a tuba), squashed underneath a chair or bench, thrown into a muddy pond and a pile of snow, and has still shown loyalty to Gaston. He also is bad at catching things, which was demonstrated twice: first when attempting to catch a fowl that Gaston shot earlier as it was falling with a bag, only for it to land next to him, and next when trying to eat a handful of eggs while Gaston sang about how feasting on eggs made him large and presumably maintain that physique, only for them to splatter all over him. In addition, he also was surprisingly durable especially for his physique, as evidenced by some of the abuse he sustained, some including things that would have been ordinarily lethal such as being squashed under an occupied chair or bench or being exposed to the snow for what was presumed to be a prolonged period of time in the film. Otherwise, LeFou is much smarter than he looks. He successfully manages to trick Maurice into describing the Beast in front of the congregated mob in order to convince them Maurice is insane and acts as the de facto leader of the lynch mob while Gaston is hiding in the shadows. Earlier on, LeFou is the first to notice Belle walking past him and Gaston; he tries to warn Gaston, though it takes the hunter a while to tear away from his own reflection. In addition, he was at least smart enough to guess correctly what Gaston had been planning when he whispered it in his ear in a short period of time, and his reaction when discovering Gaston wanted to marry Belle implied that he realized that she would most likely not want to marry him, and tried to warn Gaston against it. In the Marvel Comics, LeFou also came up with the plan for a wife auction to ensure all the maidens in the village came to Gaston for proposal in an attempt to lure Belle out, although it failed due to one of the Bimbettes disguising herself as Belle. Furthermore, he was also shown to be smart enough to realize that bears hibernate during the winter and remind Gaston of this when he planned to kill the bear for Belle. However, Gaston just ignored this and got beat up by the bear. LeFou seemed to at least temporarily have an infatuation for Claudette, Laurette, and Paulette, as he was seen gasping with ecstasy at them while they were singing praises for Gaston before they obliviously squirted water at him with a pump. Appearances ''Beauty and the Beast'' LeFou is first seen in the film's opening musical number, where he caught a waterfowl that Gaston managed to shoot down (or rather, attempted to, as the bird ended up falling a few inches away from him, causing him to sheepishly put it in the bag), having presumably accompanied Gaston on a hunting trip. He then told Gaston that he didn't miss a shot and was very likely to be the greatest hunter in the world, and was also the most wanted man among the women in the village. However, he was shocked when Gaston revealed his desire to marry Belle out of all the girls, he expressed shock and apparently tried to warn Gaston that she's not his type and likely won't reciprocate his desires, but was interrupted. He then briefly flirted with the Bimbettes but ended up squirted by them, who were distracted with admiring Gaston. Afterward, LeFou, upon rendezvousing with Gaston as Belle was about to leave, briefly mocked Maurice as a "crazy old loon," earning him a rebuke from both Belle and Gaston (the latter mostly to impress Belle), who punched LeFou. However, they proceeded to laugh while Belle rushed back to her cottage when an explosion occurred at the cottage, most likely from one of Maurice's experiments backfiring. During Gaston's failed attempt to marry Belle, LeFou is the conductor of an improvised musical band, conducting the band in an impossibly fast version of the , although he ended up getting a trumpet slammed into his head by Gaston after prematurely playing the band. After Belle's rejection of Gaston, LeFou asks him how his proposal went, prompting Gaston to throw LeFou into the mud in his frustration, to which he replies "Touchy!" Later, LeFou and the other villagers cheer up Gaston at the local tavern by singing a song about how great he is. LeFou was also the only one of the villagers to directly learn from Gaston the specific details of his plan involving locking Maurice in the asylum to force Belle into marrying him. When Gaston enacts his plan to blackmail Belle into marriage with help from Monsieur D'Arque, the owner of the local madhouse, LeFou is tasked with standing guard in Belle's home until Belle and her father, Maurice, return. LeFou attempted to protest his given task to a departing Gaston, only to be ignored, annoying him to an extent that he smashes his arm against part of the house, burying him even deeper in the snow from a minor avalanche of snow. By the time they do return, LeFou had poorly disguised himself as a snowman (being covered in a light layer of snow, and his actual arms are exposed still gripping onto the tree branches that were supposed to act as his "arms."), and upon witnessing their return, LeFou rushes off to tell Gaston and D'Arque. They soon appear with a lynch mob, and LeFou successfully convinces the congregated mob that Maurice is insane by having Maurice describe the Beast again, but the plan falls apart when Belle uses the Magic Mirror to prove Maurice isn't insane. In his jealousy and pride, Gaston rallies the crowd to attack the Beast's castle and leave none alive, and LeFou walks by his side. Once inside, he picks up Lumiere to light his way, and Lumiere's signal begins the battle. During the battle, LeFou attempts to get his revenge on Lumiere by waving a torch perilously close to Lumiere's head, melting him slightly, but Cogsworth intervenes and pokes LeFou in the bottom with a pair of scissors. He was later seen pursuing Sultan to the kitchen with other villagers but then ended up fleeing and escaping the castle with the rest of the rioters after the chef frightens them with his huge flames. It is left unrevealed if he ever found out that Gaston died against the Beast, but it is likely that Gaston's absence from then on would give him that exact message. ''House of Mouse'' LeFou often appeared alongside Gaston as one of the guests in House of Mouse, and he can be seen alongside other villains in Mickey's House of Villains, specifically in the scene where Minnie Mouse tried to singlehandedly stand against the club's leader, Jafar. In the episode, "Everybody Loves Mickey" LeFou notably appears alongside some of the villagers to sing "Let's Slay the Beast". LeFou is also seen during the headcount of all the Disney character guests in "Ask Von Drake". In "Pete's House of Villains", Lefou and Gaston joined the other guests as they rooted for Mickey's return when Pete's show was a flop. In "The Mouse Who Came to Dinner", LeFou and Gaston were amongst the crowd laughing at the humiliation of Mortimer Mouse, before Mortimer was slapped onto a pillar by Gaston. Other appearances An emoticon version of LeFou appears in the Beauty and the Beast entry of the As Told by Emoji short series. After the credits, he is seen flirting with the Bimbettes, only to face rejection. Live-action appearances ''Beauty and the Beast'' (2017) LeFou appears in the live-action remake of the film, played by Josh Gad. Considerably more intelligent (though he has never learned to read) and down-to-earth than his animated counterpart, LeFou is expanded in this version, the most notable example being LeFou's feelings toward Gaston developing from simple admiration to romantic infatuation. He is also the sole individual to keep Gaston in check, until the latter's madness consumes. However, after being abandoned by Gaston, LeFou has a change of heart and fully admits to Gaston's cruelty. He joins the enchanted objects' side at the fight at Beast's castle, befriending Mrs. Potts in the process. In the end, LeFou dances with the crowd at the final ceremony, starting to dance with Stanley, in particular. Disney Parks In spite of Gaston making appearances, LeFou hasn't become a meetable character in the Disney theme parks, though he is mentioned frequently by Gaston. Walt Disney World Resort At Magic Kingdom's Gaston's Tavern, a drink known as "LeFou's Brew" serves as the restaurant's signature drink, with Gaston occasionally explaining that LeFou is in the tavern making the drinks for guests. In addition, outside the tavern itself stands a fountain displaying the moderately iconic statue of both Gaston and LeFou. Disney Cruise Line While not actually appearing in the show itself, LeFou was mentioned by Hades in the show Villains Tonight. Trivia *His name is French for "The Madman", and also a phonetic pun on "The Fool". *In early versions of Beauty and the Beast, he was based more on comedian Woody Allen, and the studio were hoping to persuade Allen himself to voice him. But after some changes were made once Howard Ashman and Alan Menken were brought in to help make the film, LeFou's character changed and Allen's voice didn't match LeFou anymore, so Jesse Corti was cast instead. *LeFou is currently one of the few Beauty and the Beast characters to have the same voice actor in multiple versions of the movie, as Jesse Corti voiced Lefou in the English and Latin American Spanish dubs of the movie. *The style of LeFou's design is in the tradition of characters including Mr. Smee from Peter Pan (Ollie Johnston) and Lampwick from Pinocchio (Fred Moore), who are considerably very cartoonish-looking. *He is by far the most cartoonish–looking Beauty and the Beast human character. *In the 2017 remake of the film, LeFou will be portrayed by Josh Gad, known for his role as Olaf in the 2013 film Frozen. Jesse Corti also voices the Spanish dignitary in the same film. Interestingly enough, when Belle returns with Maurice, LeFou is disguised as a snowman. *After Sultan has stolen one of his shoes during the Castle War scene, LeFou can be seen wearing both shoes again during the scene where he and two other villagers surround Sultan in the kitchen and when they leave the castle after being spooked by Chef Bouche. *Although LeFou doesn't appear in Once Upon a Time, he is mentioned in the episode "Her Handsome Hero" by Gaston as being a friend who likes to embarrass him by spreading tall tales about him. *In Descendants: Isle of the Lost, LeFou is the father of Lefou Deaux on the Isle of the Lost. References Gallery LeFou.jpg Lefou.gif Category:Males Category:Adults Category:Humans Category:Men Category:Henchmen Category:Smart Idiots Category:Secondary Antagonists Category:Beauty and the Beast villains Category:Mickey's House of Villains Category:Cartoon Villains Category:Villains by Film Category:Villains from TV Series Category:Video game villains